everybody uses ok to confirm or say yes, but I would like to know where this comes from and why do we use it so commonly.
2007-04-09 06:30:30 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
OK supposedly has its origins in one of the World Wars, where after each battle, the troops would gather in their camps, and if nobody was hurt, "0 k" (zero killed) was written on a chalkboard.
2007-04-09 06:46:20 · answer #1 · answered by Kenneth 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Good question. I will google and get back to you (I have often wondered this myself.) And here we have it:
[Origin: initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, e.g., oll or orl korrect representing all correct, first attested in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1839, then used in 1840 by Democrat partisans of Martin Van Buren during his election campaign, who allegedly named their organization, the O.K. Club, in allusion to the initials of Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's nickname, derived from his birthplace Kinderhook, New York]
—Usage note Few Americanisms have been more successful than ok, which survived the political campaign of 1840 that fostered it, quickly lost its political significance, and went on to develop use as a verb, adverb, noun, and interjection. The expression was well known in England by the 1880s. Today ok has achieved worldwide recognition and use. It occurs in all but the most formal speech and writing.
2007-04-09 06:32:56 · answer #2 · answered by 123 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
pls vote for best answer if you like it.
Okay is a term of approval or assent, often written as OK, O.K., ok, okay, okee, okey, okie, okey day or more informally as simply kay or k. Sometimes used with other words, as in "okey, dokey". When used to describe the quality of a thing, it denotes acceptability. However, its usage can also be strongly approving; as with most slang, its usage is determined by context. It could be one of the most widely used words on Earth, since it has spread from English to many other languages.
2007-04-09 06:41:21 · answer #3 · answered by Aadil Prabhakar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one knows for sure, but there are a couple of theories. One is that it stands for "Old Kinderhook," who had the job of examining materials, and would put his initials on the packages to show they were good, or "OK." Another one is that an illiterate man used the initials for the same purpose, but they stood for "Oll Klear."
2007-04-09 06:35:19 · answer #4 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When Martin Van Buren was running for president it is said he was from Kinderhook New York His campaign was Van Buran he'd OK or Old Kinderhook it has sense passed down to mean "alright " today
2007-04-09 06:34:41 · answer #5 · answered by s. grant 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It comes from the sport of boxing. In boxing, the worse thing is a knock-out, shortened to KO. If something is good, it's the opposite of KO, OK.
2007-04-09 06:48:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that this was the only term that was kept from old new york irish gangs. There were quite a few other obsure ones, but if I remember correctly, it's a gaelic acronymn.
2007-04-09 06:35:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
1
2017-02-17 15:03:31 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure that it stands for anything. Instead, it seems to be an abbreviation for the word "okay."
2007-04-09 06:38:55 · answer #9 · answered by USC MissingLink 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
comes from birthplace of martin van buren(old kinderhook,new jersey,,,,,i aint checked on nj as his birthplace) he signed whitehouse documents using o.k.,,,,,,,,,russian soldiers used it in contact with americans in germany,,,,,,,O.cheen K.haraschow O.X.......actually,,,,,,,xharashow,in roosky
2007-04-09 07:38:43 · answer #10 · answered by quackpotwatcher 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋